Rhinelander - Local skiers provided plenty of excitement in the Nordic Ski Championships.Sunday's race was pursuit style, with a staggered start designed to have the State Champs cross the finish line first.A big crowd came out to the Northwood Golf Club in Rhinelander to catch the action. Even the Hodag was on hand to meet and greet the fans.On the boys' side, Rhinelander's top finisher was Lou Bassette holding steady at 39th overall.
Claire Tracy had a strong day. She passed 10 competitors to finish 25th overall. Hillary Wall finished 29th. Freshman Mack FitzPatrick led the Lakeland boys. He gained ground today and finished on the podium in 4th place. Will Bodewes took 11th, Lucas Paulson 13th and Michael Orlowski 19th overall.The T-Bird ladies had a day to remember. Delaney FitzPatrick started in second place, 47 seconds behind the leader. She skied strong, made a pass and came out of the woods in first place. Delaney is your state champion winning by 10 seconds. Erin Bolger moved up a couple spots and finished on the podium with 6th place. And Sophia Annis came in 11th overall- all very impressive performances.In team scores Lakeland also came up big. The boys finished in third place in the state, and the lady T-Birds took the top spot.